While not actually celebrated with the fanfare it deserves, the departure of the Adorna ruling made possible by yesterday's Federal Court judgment should be toasted by landed property owners.

The landmark victory finally sees an end to nearly a decade long ‘open season’ for conmen to prey upon clueless landowners.

The media had reported that fraudsters would lodge police reports claiming loss of land titles to obtain fresh copies of deeds, from the Land Office, to lands they do not own.

Often this would also involve the use of forged identification papers, after which the conmen would dispose the properties to allegedly ‘unsuspecting’ buyers.

According to Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Division, fraud victims have lost nearly RM15 million worth of land in 129 cases in 2006 and 2007 alone.

One example of this was the alleged land grab in Ulu Yam in which 16 people unknowingly lost 280 plots of land in 2007.

Similarly in 2005, 18 landowners who participated in the Rancangan Buku Hijau (Green Book Programme) in Kapar suffered the same fate.

dap 2010 budget rocket cafe 071009 lim kit siang 01 Both cases were championed by DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, who even referred the issue to parliament, to no avail.

The Adorna loophole

The infamous Adorna case made a legal loophole in our National Land Code (NLC) into a precedent.

It put into effect the ‘indefeasibility of titles and interests’ of parties ‘duped’ into purchasing land from fraudsters in good faith, condemning the original owners to lose out.

The injustice in the much debated ruling has long been the subject of discontent among the victims, concerned parties, academicians, as well as members of both the Bar and the Bench.

One judge in particular, then Court of Appeal Judge Justice Gopal Sri Ram actually went as far as to reject the Adorna case precedent.

As he wrote in a 2007 judgement , “the principle set out in Adorna Properties Sdn Bhd v Boonsom Boonyanit, which ruled in favour of a bona fide purchaser of land whose ownership had been forged, should not be followed.”

Calls for NLC amendment

The improper ruling had also earned the ire of concerned land owners who feared that the same fate could befall them.  

In 2007, National House Buyers Association honorary secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said the association wanted the National Land Code to be amended, to reverse the effects of the Adorna precedent "so in cases like this, owners will not risk losing their property."

Lim echoed this adding that the government must amend the NLC to “end the gross injustice in the Adorna case...and prevent hundreds of landowners falling victim to the new Adornas.”

Yesterday’s historic verdict was made following a judicial review brought about by the case of Tan Ying Hong vs Tan Sian San, Cini Timber Industries Sdn Bhd and United Malayan Banking Corporation Bhd.

Fraudulent title no longer 'indefeasible'

Some 30 landowners will now breathe a sigh of relief from the outcome of this  case. For with the ruling, the transfer of land by fraudulent means would no longer be legally acceptable.

These pending cases involve land fraud similar to the Adorna case, and now would have to be ruled on with this new judgement as precedent.

More so, this effectively puts a damper on future acts of fraudsters or ‘unsuspecting’ buyers who can no longer get off scot free when purchasing ‘questionable’ land.

However, as noted by ex-ISA detainee R Kengadharan, the question now remains. What do we do to provide redress to the countless landowners and how to remedy the millions worth of property which has been lost due to the earlier Adorna precedent.

Especially to Boonsom Boonyanit who was made a victim in the original ruling.

It also begs the question whether the Malaysian government and the Land Office could be held accountable for the losses and damages because of this.